Hood River

View from downtown Hood River

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday and we drove out to Hood River to enjoy some delicious pizza and beer at the Double Mountain Brewery.

Pretty day for visiting.

Driving.

Hood River is about an hour away from Portland. It's in the Columbia River Gorge, located right on the Columbia River. There are many breweries and wineries out in this area. One of our favorites happens to be Double Mountain. They don't bottle their beers to sell at stores, so we get a case of the them and bring them home. The food is really good too, most notably the pizza. Good food, good friends and good beer. It really doesn't get better than that.

Sight seeing at 60 mph.

It was nice to get away for the day. I needed that. It felt like a little mini vacation :) 

Hooray!

It's Friday, and I actually have a real weekend. 


My plans include, painting, gardening, and celebrating my friend's 30th birthday. We're kicking off the weekend by going to see The Cabin in the Woods with friends tonight. Yikes! I love scary movies and I'm looking forward to seeing this. Mostly I'm excited about getting out of the house and going to the movies. It's been awhile.

I'm also hoping to finish my book Blue Nights by Joan Didion. If you're not familiar with her writing I urge you to pick up this book as well as a Year of Magical Thinking. Both books are a bit heavy. Blue Nights deals with the death of her daughter and it's also about how the author deals with her age and immortality. a Year of Magical thinking is about the sudden death of her husband. although both books are about the death of two loved ones, the books are not necessarily sad. They are reflections on her life with them.

I love how she writes about time and memory. How she compares this time last year, this time 5 years ago, this time 10 years ago. She also has this great train of thought kind of writing. It is lovely, thoughtful, and inspiring. 

So there. That's what I've got. Have a good weekend! 

Oh hi!

Yeah, I'm still here. The truth is that for the past month and a half I've been wallowing in a lot of self pitty and sadness, and this last week was probably the worst of it. I thought staying away from the computer was probably a good idea. I don't want to drag anyone else down there with me.

Mo

But, here I am! I'm feeling better and I feel like I can get back into the swing of things. I hope so anyway.

Mo too!

I did get my commission of Mo done! Yay! My friend loves it, and I'm so glad. I got to spend some time with her, and Mo today, and that was really good. I love her little dog so much. She does this little jump thing when she wants you to pay attention to her. She also gives you the biggest puppy eyes I think I've ever seen on a dog. :)


 Hope all is well out there in the world!

I Believe

Don't you love great mail days?
I do. I really do. Today was one of the best mail days ever.

My friend Shana sent me this wonderful reminder today. She made it herself. She's made a lot of them over the past few weeks. You can read all about it right here!

This little gift is just what I needed for this year. Last year was rough and I believe that it can only get better. It's also a wonderful reminder to take time to be less selfish with my time when it comes to my friends and family...


Thank you Shana. You're an inspiration.

I know my calendar still says December. I'm waiting for my new calendar to get here ;)

In Between Things

 Sunday my friends, Nate, and I had a chance to head to Sauvie's Island. We picked out pumpkins, drank some hot cider and ate caramel apples. It was fun. Very fun. Sauvie's Island is about a 20 minute drive from Portland. It's a small island that has nothing but farms on it. In the summer there is lots of berry picking and in the fall it's all pumpkins, hay rides, and corn mazes :)

 In other news, Chloe had surgery to remove her tumor on Tuesday. I came down with a cold the same day, so it's been a sleepy, sick, weekend for us.

She's doing well. I most likely will hear about what stage the tumor is later today. Fingers are crossed that it's only a stage one, in which all of the cancer cells have been removed.

Between taking care of her and myself I haven't gotten much of anything done art wise these past few days. I did manage to get some painting done and I came really close to getting some sketches done!

Next week will have to be much more productive. The images for the show at Tilde are due!

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Keeping with it

I realized something very important this week.

I realized how much artists and crafters need each other. We need each other for accountability, feedback, support, and friendship. It can be such a lonely task and often we get accustomed to the solitude that goes into making. But it is so important to get out and talk with other people in the same profession. It's not only important for our work but also our being.

I think pet friends are important too. Chloe is always my comic relief for the day...

Okay, that's my little revelation for the week :)
hope everyone has a great weekend.

yay friends!

Hey!

2011 is becoming the most social year of my life. I feel like I've had breakfast dates, coffee dates, and dinner dates every week so far. well, I guess we are only in the 2nd-going into the 3rd, week....but still! I never get out this much.

I must say it does get easier the more I do it!
I had a lovely breakfast meeting with the always lovely Ryan of Littleputbooks, and then met up with the also lovely Leigh of noisydogstudio. It was just what I needed to end my weekend of solitude in my studio.

yay!

I also got a new illustration up and here are the photos of the work I did yesterday. Go me!

I Heart Summer 2009

This summer has been so amazing. Really.
It's been one of the best summers I've had in a long time, and for the first time, maybe ever, I don't want it to end.

I've been catching up with old friends, taking days off, eating great food, and painting. I love it. I'm so happy, and it seems like such a long time since I've felt like this...

So here are some photos of my life from the last couple of days. The city skyline is about a block away from my studio. When I need to take a break from working I just head down to the water front and take a walk.

The other photos of the river is where I spent my day, with my friend Nate, yesterday. It was wonderful.

Life is good. Portland is good.

Um.....

I haven't done anything productive in days...
I seriously need to get on the ball. I just haven't been into it.
I feel burned out. I feel tired and totally lacking motivation. I'm over it.

So, in other news.............I was social today! Go me!
I made a new friend a little while ago. His name is Kenny Corbin, and he is a fantastic photographer. You can visit his Etsy shop here, and his Flickr page here.

We had fun. Got coffee and food and hung out in lovely Pontiac, Michigan.
Chloe seemed to like him, and was happy to make a new friend.

I knew this would happen. I knew, when I moved here, that I would start making friends about a month before we left for Portland. I knew it, and I was right. It always happens to me.

Oh well. I'm hoping to keep in contact with both Shannon and Kenny, and a few other people I've met this last month or so...
Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday. Hopefully my motivation finds me soon, and I'll have more things to share!

Just Thinking

fr


Finished two new paintings today.

Thinking about home. Thinking about friends.
Thinking about how Mexican food sounds good for dinner.
Thinking about things.

That's about it.

Last Day of 27

Today is my lat day of being 27 year old.
Yes, tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 28.

Happy Birthday Me!
I love my birthday...even if I am in Pontiac, Michigan...I still love it.

The last couple of days have been rough.
Just missing home, not really knowing what I am doing, and the heat, have all been factors of my over all feeling of yuck.

Today was a lot better, but I can still feel it.

My really good friends had their first baby on August 4th! A little baby boy, named Warren. Mom and baby are both healthy and happy, and I am so glad for that. I really wish I could be there...

Oh well, soon enough I suppose. Please, please, please time...go by quickly.

So I have been continuing my little works on paper. I am almost done. I need to go in and add a little sewing here and there, but I really like them. I have also been busy gessoing panels and collaging them. I started a couple of new ones today too. So a lot of work getting done! Which is good.

I am still having feelings of trying to figure out what I am doing, but I have been working at a lot slower pace, and I already feel better about that.

Oh! one of my friends from PU found me yesterday, and she found me on Etsy! We endured a summer of pure hell together a few years ago. An entire year of French in just 3 months! Anyway, I happened to be on the front page and he clicked on my illustration and figured the rest out from there. Mary also has a blog and it's a really good read. So you should read it if you have time!

So anyway, hope everyone is staying cool!

Something Different

Hey!

It's a really beautiful Thursday afternoon here in good old Pontiac, Michigan.
I am really excited because I got a message from my friend Nate yesterday, and he might come visit! yay! He's going on a road trip from Portland to New York and he might stop by on his way :)

Yay! It's always so nice to see familiar faces. My friend Nishiki is going to grad school in Indiana, and is moving out here next month...so hopefully we can get together too.

So I finished this painting today. Something different. I originally made this into a screen print, but I have the wrong kind of black ink, so I will have to get some regular acrylic ink...anyway, I really like the screen print so I thought I would make a painting out of it. I like it!

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Craziness

I had a crazy weekend.

My friend Butch, and his girlfriend Yael, stopped to visit us on their move back home to Portland from New York. They stayed with us for a couple of days, and it was really nice to see them.

Unfortunately we had a HUGE storm and we were without power for almost 24 hours. It only lasted about 15-20 minutes, but trees came down and there was a lot of debris left after the storm. One of the oak trees in our back yard completely fell over on top of some power lines, and there was another trees that had blown over on a power line about a block away from us. It was craziness. Tons of businesses were without power as well. So we just kinda sat around.

The night before the storm came, a bat flew into our hallway! It took about 30 minutes to coax out the door. Our courageous neighbor, Jason, shooed it out with a broom while Butch held an umbrella to keep it from going further down the hall. The whole thing was pretty funny to watch.

I stopped by the 323 Gallery to pick up my first check from them! Yay! Money!
I chatted with Jesse Corey, one of the owners, for awhile. He's really excited about the shop, and so am I. It's so nice to see a gallery like this in close to where I live. I am really happy to help support, and be part of, a local gallery too :)

So now it's Tuesday, and I think I have fully recovered from the weekend. I am still working on screen printing, and it has been a rough beginning, but I refuse to give up just yet...or ever!!

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for being so supportive!

It is greatly appreciated. :)

This morning is going so much better.
I am getting work done, listening to a new mix CD, and it's sooo nice outside.

It's weird to think it was 34 degrees yesterday, and it's 57 degrees right now.

So I have several special orders to get done, and I am just about finished with two.
I painted this Pink Bike for ArtsyOrange.
You should check out her Etsy shop!
She has some really pretty pendants.

I am also almost done with a little chair painting for the DDP gallery.
It for a charity event that helps to benefit people with disabilities become acting members of their community.

I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of it...
opps.

Moving on...I also finished this painting this other chair painting this morning. I like the lone chair, on the floor, and the the little balloon. It's sad, but happy at the same times.

I am almost done with this typewriter painting too. I painted the keys this morning, and now I have to sit down and figure out the letters, and give it a nice coat of wax.

I have digital photography class tonight and I am really not looking forward to it.
Really.

Today is...

Going to be hard.

I already feel tired, and homesick and lonely.
I don't mind spending time by myself. In fact, I would rather be by myself most of the time. However, there is a difference between wanting to be by yourself, as a choice, and having to be alone.

Living here doesn't help either. In Portland I could just walk to go get some coffee and hang out. Here the closest thing to that is a 15 minute drive and Starbucks. I really don't want to hang out in a Starbucks.

Sometimes I wish I was more social, and nice.

Anyhow. I am looking forward to New York, and I am really looking forward to seeing Butch. I miss him. I am also looking forward to seeing a million water towers and taking pictures of all of them.

I should call people.

Thanks everyone for commenting on all my frames and my paintings. :)
It always means a lot to me.

SUN!

The sun is here and I don't want to miss it, so this is going to be short.
I really want to ride my bike around the block. Really badly.

Nothing exciting today.

I love:
having a clean apartment.
Blogging.
Making things.
Diet Coke.
Gouache (ok this might be a love/hate relationship)
My bike.
Swinging on a swing really really high.
Traveling.
Coffee and or Tea.
The Clash.
K. Trinks.
Micron Pens.
Arches Cover Cream Paper.
Getting very cool things in the mail from friends.
Everyone that reads my blog.

Pass it on.
:)
Ok off to ride my bike.

What I Meant to Blog Yesterday

So here is what I was going to blog yesterday, but felt like feeling sorry for myself instead.

Megan is totally right in saying that I should cut myself some slack. Thanks!

Anyway, I was going to write a little about my trip and how things went.
It was really nice and I had a lot of fun. We mostly did a lot of running around. Weddings are pretty stressful and busy even if you aren't the one getting married.

The wedding itself was pretty awesome. It was straight out of Martha Stewart with a little twist of Kristen. It was perfect!
There are some picture of the limo ride to Balboa park.

We had a lot of fun, but I think by Sunday our livers were feeling a bit under the weather. Two open bars two nights in a row?? How could you say no?

The weather was nice and it was so much nicer than being in Michigan...

Homework

Wow.

Homework = not much fun.

So I've been working on this design project the last couple of days. Graphic design homework is so far from drawing or design homework. In basic design when the professor tells you to do 24 sketches, you just do 24 sketches. It takes maybe 30 minutes to an hour. When a graphic design instructor tells you to do 24 sketches you don't just do sketches. You measure, you mask, you use rulers...it takes more like 3-4 hours.

Oddly enough, it's really satisfying to me. I guess it's because I love to organize, and plan, and have everything tidy. Which is really weird, because if you've ever seen my studio or the way I create my paintings, you'd never guess that I was a neat freak. I guess that's how I keep sane. I have that one outlet to be completely unorganized and messy.

I also like the graphic design work because it almost feels like you get to make stuff using office supplies. I've always wanted to make art just using office supplies. It seems so contained and streamlined. MMmmmm...organization.....

I got a lot of work done for my upcoming show today too. I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow. I am pretty happy with them so far. I've been really exploring illustration in them. I have been itching to just draw and illustrate little aspects of my life. It's been fun. I forgot how much I really just like to draw, and drawing is so much like speaking a foreign language. If you don't practice you tend to forget and never improve.

Which brings me to another topic. In my class on Wednesday almost everyone came out and said they couldn't draw. That they thought it would be a computer class and that they don't have any drawing skills. I really don't like when people say they can't draw. Everyone can draw. It just takes practice and some people pick it up quicker than others. Like I said it's like a foreign language or math. I can draw, but that's only because I practice and I've taken a million drawing classes. It's not like I could draw portraits when I was two...you have to learn. I've worked really hard and put a lot of years in, to be able to paint, draw, and print, it isn't just a matter of talent.

Ok. That's my little rant. :)
I'll explain my photos. That's Angie and me at my first craft fair, and the older lady I am talking to was my first customer that day! I had an awesome day that day. I met really cool people and had great sales.